The consumer end hasn’t been as quick to pick up on the loyalty card trend, however. Recent research from Subway shows that there are currently £5.2 billion worth of unused loyalty card points in the UK alone.

To combat this, some retailers, such as WalMart, have begun “instant issuance” schemes, which involve the use of in-store printers to put loyalty cards in the hands of customers right then and there, encouraging more spending from the consumer and greater profit for the retailer.